Fight with pedestrian nets 1-year term

One of two men convicted of attacking a pedestrian who asked them to move their car so his injured wife would not have to walk into a puddle was sentenced yesterday to a year in jail and five years' probation.

Circuit Judge Richard Pollack also ordered Maurice Nakama, 26, to serve 250 hours of community service at a rehabilitation center so that he could understand the damage he caused.

Murray Wallace suffered a brain injury in the October 2005 attack, which started as a verbal confrontation. He fell and hit his head after a scuffle on Kapiolani Boulevard with Nakama. Prosecutors say he likely would likely died had he not received prompt medical attention.

Prosecutors charged Nakama with attempted murder, but in October a jury found him guilty of the reduced charge of second-degree assault.

In imposing probation, Pollack relied on the verdict of the jury, which found that Nakama recklessly, not intentionally, inflicted serious bodily injury.

Pollack described the incident as senseless and entirely avoidable by Nakama and that the injuries Wallace suffered were substantial. But he agreed that it was unlikely that Nakama's conduct would recur and that he would likely respond to probation.

Nakama apologized to Wallace and his wife, Alice, who also suffered a mild concussion after the driver, Daniel Miyamoto struck her in the back of the head when she tried to stop him from leaving the scene. She suffered a mild concussion. At the time, she was wearing a leg cast.

Alice Wallace had asked that Nakama receive the maximum term possible, calling the attack on her husband "brutal and relentless."

Her husband lay on the ground unconscious and unable to fight back, yet Nakama continued assaulting him, she said.

Nakama had no prior criminal history, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Ed Harada.

Miyamoto was sentenced in October to a year of probation with 30 days in jail to be served on consecutive weekends. He had pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for striking Alice Wallace.